


Criss-Cross

by CasualWriter



Category: Gone Series - Michael Grant
Genre: F/M, Fear, Gone Series - Freeform, Lies, Michael Grant, Multi, Plague, The FAYZ, gone, hunger, light - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-04-05 18:35:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4190607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CasualWriter/pseuds/CasualWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Gone AU starting before the FAYZ, where the two main ships are mix-matched. Sam/Diana and Caine/Astrid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mingling

The waves of Perdido Beach always made Sam feel better. The feeling of freedom and power as he rode the waves, the water gently lapping at his wetsuit as he lay on his surfboard, the sun on his back. Being out there with Quinn was heaven.

Sam laid down on his back on the sand, closing his eyes. He heard a thump and new Quinn had laid down beside him. The afternoon sun warmed his skin, and he smiled. He was happy.

“Hey, brah,” Quinn said, breaking the silence. “Can you and your mom drive me to the game tonight?”

“Yeah,” Sam replied. “We're leaving at five-thirty.”

A lot of the Perdido Beach ninth graders were going to a football game with Coates Academy, the boarding school for “troubled kids” up a short distance up the highway. Most of them didn't actually care about the football, but they were offering gift cards to a local ice cream store to students who showed up for “school spirit and support.” Not many kids would pass up a free Frosty Whip ice cream.

“Cool, thanks,” Quinn said. “I've got money for my ticket, though.”

“Good, because I wasn't going to pay for you,” Sam laughed.

Quinn made a pretend-offended noise. “I'm glad to know our friendship is still pure.”

“As always.”

They stayed there for a few more minutes before Sam's cellphone rang. Sam opened his eyes and retrieved his phone from his backpack. A glance at it told him it was his mom, Connie Temple.

“It's my mom,” Sam told Quinn. “Hello?”

“Hello, Sam,” his mom replied. “It's five-forty-five. You should come home and get ready for the game.”

“Yeah, okay,” Sam agreed. When Quinn repeatedly poked him in the side, he said, “I'm putting you on speaker, Quinn wants to say hi.” He tapped the speaker phone icon on his screen.

“Hi, mom!” Quinn spoke into the phone.

Connie laughed. “Hi, Quinn.”

“I told him we could take him to the game, is that alright?” Sam asked.

“We can do that,” Connie answered. “Now come home and get ready. You're probably filthy and sandy.” With that she hung up.

Sam took one last look at the ocean. “Okay, let's go.”

  


  


  


Astrid looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her blonde hair was neatly brushed and hung down to her shoulder blades. Her makeup was applied and she looked very orderly. Satisfied, she put down her hairbrush and walked down the hallway to her bedroom.

A glance at her alarm clock told her it was five-fifteen. She'd be leaving in ten minutes to get to the football, where Perdido Beach will play at Coates Academy. Astrid didn't care much for sports, but students who attended were being given gift cards to the Perdido Beach ice cream shop — a place whose food actually got a reaction out of her autistic four-year-old brother, Little Pete — and her friends wanted her to go because she needed to “be more social and get out there.” Maybe they were right.

She grabbed her jacket, since it would be a bit chilly for California that night. Slipping it on, she heard her phone buzz. It was her best friend, Georgia, saying, _You still need us to pick you up, right?_

 _Yes, please,_ Astrid responded, walking down her stairs to wait in the living room for Georgia.

A few minutes after she sat down on her couch, her mom stuck her head into the room from the kitchen. “Can Georgia take you?” she asked.

“Yes, and are you taking us home?” Astrid asked, peering through the window to see Georgia's car pull into the driveway.

“Yep,” her mom replied.

Double-checking to make sure she had money in her jacket pocket, Astrid told her mom Georgia was here and that she'd see her later.

Sighing slightly, Astrid walked outside.

  


  


  


When Sam and Quinn were dropped off at Coates, they looked around a bit before going to the stadium. An actual stadium, not just a small field like the Perdido Beach school had. The entire school looked like it was fit for the president's children to attend.

They were just about to head to the stadium when a dark-haired girl yelled at them, “What the hell are you doing?”

Sam and Quinn froze, embarrassed. She was obviously from Coates, since she had just walked out of the main building, and two boys were walking out behind her.

“Nothing,” Sam said quickly. “Just… looking around. And stuff.”

“And stuff,” the girl repeated. “What, are you impressed?”

“A little bit, to be honest,” Quinn said, blushing.

One of the boys — the dirty-blonde haired one — spoke. “Can't blame them. Their Perdido Beach school is probably run-down and trashy.” His voice sounded cold and malicious.

“Now, now, Drake,” the dark-haired boy scolded. He looked tidy and purposeful, and sounded the same. He was wearing what was probably the Coates uniform, which looked very formal. “These are our wonderful guests from town,” he said, sounded like he was mockingly reciting something someone else had said.

Drake started to verbally retaliate, but the girl cut him off, rolling her eyes. “Sorry about these two,” she said, not bothering to lower her voice. “They bicker a lot. I'm Diana.” She stuck out her hand, which Sam and Quinn took turns shaking.

“Quinn,” Quinn introduced himself.

“Sam.” Sam couldn't help but notice how attractive she was — her wavy dark hair fell almost perfectly, and her eyes were brown and twinkling. She had a nice body, too….

Sam was yanked out of his daydreams by the dark-haired boy. “I'm Caine,” he was saying. He nodded to Drake. “That's Drake, our token psychopath.” Caine shook their hands, but Drake just glared angrily at them all.

Diana leaned over to whisper something in Caine's ear. Caine's eyes widened in shock, and then narrowed in anger, all in a split second. His cheerful, polite expression returned in an instant.

The Coates trio looked at Sam and Quinn, making them more uncomfortable. Diana's eyes lingered on Sam, as if sizing him up.

“You two should sit with us,” Diana invited.

“Yeah, alright,” Sam said, happy to have an excuse to hang out with a very pretty girl.

The three led the way to the stadium, where they paid for tickets and found seats. Diana sat next to Sam, Quinn next to Sam, Caine next to Quinn, and Drake next to Diana. They made smalltalk, Sam and Quinn exchanging slightly confused glances, and the game started. As they talked, Sam realized that none of them cared about the game any more than he and Quinn did, and that Coates was giving their students extra credit in Phys Ed for attending the game.

“So, Sam,” Diana said. “What's Perdido Beach like? I've never actually been down there.”

Sam shrugged, his heart racing at this individual conversation with Diana. “It's not much. Pretty small, not too exciting. You're not missing much.”

“It's still got to be better than Coates. This place is like a prison. We're only allowed to go to town on the weekends, when they sometimes organize buses to take us. Or if someone comes to take us.” Diana looked at him, calculative. “You should take me sometime. I'd like that.”

Sam felt his face go red. “I'd like that, too,” he managed.

After exchanging phone numbers, much to Sam's astonishment and delight, Diana ordered Caine to go get everybody popcorn. With a small glare of irritation towards Diana, Caine left, and Diana turned around to talk to Drake.

“She gave me her number,” Sam whispered to Quinn.

“Damn,” Quinn marveled. “She's so hot, brah, you scored one.”

They were both temporarily distracted by a young red-haired girl shouting profanity at the football players, who was then screamed at to be respectful by a teacher.

“I know,” Sam agreed. “She said she wanted me to take her to town sometime.”

Quinn raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Nice! Hopefully she doesn't pull a Coates and kill you.”

Sam shook his head. “I don't think she's like that.” 


	2. Acquaintance

Caine stalked off to the concession stand. He hated how Diana treated him so lowly. He was in love with her, and she knew. She always toyed with him, took advantage of him. And now she was flirting with that Perdido Beach boy, Sam.

The four bar.

Before Sam, they had thought Caine was the only four bar — Diana had the ability to read power levels by touch, and she used “bars” as her measurement system. He had the power of telekinesis, which was more major than the other freaks' they knew about, like Dekka's gravity power, Taylor's teleportation power, Andrew's sonic boom power… there were more, too. Their secret freak club.

But now they knew that there were mutants in Perdido Beach, too. A powerful one, and maybe more. That wasn't good. Caine wanted to be top dog, and now he had competition.

Both for top dog and for Diana. He knew part of the reason why she was getting so close to Sam was strategic, to get knowledge about his power and possible other powers in town. But she didn't have to be so aggressive about it, like she was trying to make him jealous. Which she obviously was.

His thoughts were disrupted  by a sharp scream from somewhere to his right. He swiveled his head, looking for the source. In a shady corner near the bathrooms, there was a blonde girl being backed into the corner by two burly boys, who Caine recognized as Lenny and Sumo, two of Coates's many bullies, who both relied on their size to scare people. The girl he didn't recognize, and was probably one of the Perdido Beach kids. 

Caine shook his head. The town kids seemed good at getting themselves into trouble.

After the girl pitifully yelled for help again, Caine sighed and left his spot in the line to valiantly save her.

“Lenny! Sumo!” he said loudly, channeling his social authority that he had over the bullies. “What the hell do you think you're doing?”

The pair froze, and turned slowly to face him.

“Caine,” Sumo grunted, blinking in surprise and fear. 

“We were just having some fun,” Lenny pleaded desperately.

Caine narrowed his eyes. “Go have fun somewhere else, yeah? Shoo.” He made a swatting motion with his hand, and they scattered.

He turned to face the girl, who was actually very pretty. She had very blonde hair that fell to her shoulder blades, and bright blue eyes that seemed to take in every detail, very calculating and clever.

“You okay?” he asked, moving toward her.

She nodded. “I'm fine,” she told him, but she wiped a tear from her eye.

“Did you come here with anyone?” Caine asked again. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and she didn't resist.

She nodded again. “Yeah,” she said, her voice not as shaky.

“I'll walk you back. What's your name?”

She smiled at him. “Astrid,” she responded, and starting leading him to where her friends must be. “ And you're Caine, I assume?” 

“That's me,” he agreed. He'd kept his hand on her shoulder, and she seemed to like it. Or at least not mind it. “You're from town?”

“Yep. My friends dragged me up here. They said I need to be more social.”

Caine laughed. “Well, you met me, right? That should score some points with your friends.”

Astrid smiled at him again. “Yeah, it should.”

As they continued walking, Caine realized they would pass where Diana was sitting with Drake and the boys from town. Perfect. She'd see him with another girl, and he'd show her that he wasn't completely reliant on her for attention.

Diana caught his eye, and she raised her arms in a “what the hell?” manner. He realized he hadn't gotten them their popcorn. After checking to make sure Astrid wasn't looking, he gave Diana the finger, and turned away from her.

“There they are,” Astrid said, pointing to a group of three other girls. She led him to them. “I'm back.”

The girls looked back and forth between Astrid and Caine. “Who's this?” a dark-skinned girl with curly hair asked Astrid, raising her eyebrows a bit.

“This is Caine,” Astrid introduced. She looked at him. “These are my friends, Georgia, Dana, and Becka.” Georgia was the one who'd asked who he was, Dana had almost black hair, and Becka was very tan with hair blonder than Astrid's.

“Nice to meet you all,” Caine said, nodding politely. He looked back to Astrid. “Well, I should leave you all. It was nice seeing you.”

“No, you should stay and sit with us,” Dana interjected. She looked to Astrid with a smirk.

“Unless you have someone to get back to,” Becka added, but she was smirking, too.

Caine raised an eyebrow to Astrid, asking her opinion.

Astrid smiled. She had a nice smile. “Yeah. You should sit with us.”

  


* * *

  


Diana was having an interesting night. First, she'd met a decently attractive boy from town who turned out to be Caine's equal in power, and second, Caine was flirting with another girl. Not that she was offended or hurt or anything, it just shocked her that he had given up so easily after everything he'd done in attempt to get to her. Or maybe he was just trying to prove a point.

Either way, Diana was greatly entertained by that night's events.

“Is boarding school really as bad as people say?” Sam asked her.

Diana blinked, reverting her focus back to her slightly-flirtatious conversation with Sam. They'd mostly been making smalltalk for most of the game, which was now on the last quarter. Drake had moved next to Quinn and was making him visibly uncomfortable by telling him all the awful things he'd done while Quinn tried to pay attention to something on his phone.

“Eh.” Diana shrugged. “It's not really as bad as people make it up to be. As long as you don't get homesick. I don't.”

Sam nodded. “What did you do to get sent here?” Then he blushed, probably realizing that that question could be taken offensively. “Oh, sorry, I — I didn't mean to —”

“Shut up, it's okay,” Diana interrupted, flashing him one of her rare comforting looks. “My mom fell down the stairs and got sent to the hospital, and I blamed my dad. He wasn't a good person.”

Sam's face fell. “Hey, I'm sorry, Diana.”

She shrugged again. “Whatever. So when the cops found out I lied, I was sent here.”

“That sucks,” Sam said sympathetically.

Then he did something that surprised Diana. He slipped his hand into hers, intertwining their fingers. What surprised Diana even more was that she kind of liked it. At first, she'd only flirted with Sam because he was a four bar, and she and Caine needed information on him, and other possible mutants in town — and also to aggravate Caine. But… maybe she kind of liked him. She might as well have some fun. Caine kept all the other boys away from her, but she had an excuse with Sam. And, it would be a great outlet of information.

Diana held the same slightly-irritated-and-slightly-amused expression she used as a default. She smirked at him, and scooted a bit closer to him on the bench.

He stiffened up faintly, but he didn't resist. He obviously wasn't as good with girls as Diana was with boys.

All the more fun.

“So, Sam,” Diana said, deciding it was time to make him uncomfortable and test his dedication to her. “Do you have a girlfriend?” She waggled her eyebrows a bit. She knew that was an obvious question, but her goal was to make him as uncomfortable as Drake was making Quinn by telling him about how he had microwaved a puppy. Hopefully she'd also be able to get information out of him, too.

Sam hesitated. “No,” he said. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Diana's eyes wandered to Caine, sitting with the blonde girl and her friends. “Nah.” She turned back to Sam. “Come on. Walk with me.” She stood up and tugged on his hand, leading him down from the bleachers. She glanced back and saw him giving Quinn an apologetic look, and she smirked.

“Where are we going?” Sam asked once they were down from the bleachers.

“Just walking,” Diana replied. She swung around to face him, walking behinds. “Let's play a question game. Yeah?”

“Alright,” Sam said, his palm starting to sweat. “You first.”

Diana squinted ponderously. “Have you ever… kissed a girl?”

Chewing his lip, Sam nodded. “Once, yeah.”

“Your turn.”

Tilting his head in thought, Sam said, “Um… what's the deal with you and Caine? You guys seem kind of — like….”

Chuckling a bit, Diana shook her head. She turned so that she was walking alongside Sam again. “We're not like that. It's — it's complicated, I guess. He has some pathetic crush on me, but I don't feel the same way. He tends to get a bit —” she cast a slightly worried look at Sam, “— jealous. You'll be fine, though.” After a second thought, she added, “Especially after he ran off with that blonde girl.”

“He's trying to prove a point to you?” Sam asked.

“Exactly,” Diana responded. “He's trying to say that he's not too dependent on me for attention, and that's he's capable of finding other girls.”

Sam nodded thoughtfully. “Would he be okay with this?” He looked at their intertwined hands swinging between them.

Diana shrugged. “He wouldn't be happy with it. But don't worry, I'll protect you,” she said with a sarcastic smile.

Now it was time for business.

“Let's sit down here,” Diana said, gesturing to a relatively private spot at the edge of the stadium's outer wall.

They sat so they both faced each other, leaning against the stadium wall on their sides.

“So,” Diana began. “Is there anything about you that maybe you're afraid for others to know about?” She hoped that sounded casual.

Sam blinked. “Uh, like, what do you mean?”

Shrugging, Diana said, “Eh, anything. Embarrassing event, secret hobby, maybe you secretly listen to thirties jazz music in your spare time.”

His face reddened. “Do I actually have to tell you, or can I just say whether or not?”

“Preferably you'd elaborate on the topic, but whatever,” Diana reasoned.

Sam looked at the ground, his hand that was still holding Diana's was very sweaty. “Well… there is, kind of. It's something I did accidentally. Now….” He shook his head. “That's all.”

That was interesting. Most of the other kids with powers had had undesirable incidents with them at first that caused problems. Maybe Sam had one, too.

“Darn,” Diana said wryly. “Sorry about that.”

“It's not your fault,” Sam said. He looked at her like he was trying to figure something out. “Diana...” he started.

“Let's not get too sappy, alright?” Diana interrupted. “I don't like sappy.”

“Sorry,” Sam said quickly. “It's just… I know we just met and stuff, and I'm not trying to act like I'm in a teen move, but, I — I like you. Y-you know?”

To her own surprise, Diana smiled and said, “I like you too, Sam.” Then she leaned over and kissed him quickly on the cheek. She smirked as his face flushed further.

Before either of them could say anything else, the end-of-the-game whistle blew, which Sam and Diana could faintly hear.

“Come on,” she said, breaking the moment of silence that had followed. “Let's go find our friends.”


	3. Connection

“No, actually, I couldn't care less about the football,” Caine was saying. “They're just giving us P.E. extra credit for attending.”

Astrid and her friends laughed.

“Only Dana actually cares about sports in general,” Astrid said. “If you hadn't already figured that out by her constant yelling at the players.”

Dana flashed her a look, like a sarcastic “what can you do?”

Astrid wasn't sure what to think of Caine. He was easy to like — charismatic, good-looking, smart, charming. He seemed very nice and sweet, too. But then again, he was from Coates, the troubled kids school. But he seemed so nice….

That was probably what he wanted them to think. Ugh, she was so paranoid. He was probably just sent here for one mistake, and was still a good person. That was probably most of these kid's situations.

But she still felt nervous, and she wasn't sure if it was completely about that. It was just… her friends wanted obviously wanted her to like him — like, _like-like_ — and she might actually start to feel like that, which startled her. She'd always told herself that her schoolwork was her priority and boys were just a distraction, but now she was starting to question that.

If Caine was actually how she thought he might be, Astrid might have to consider bending that rule. Not that she'd every really had any romantic interactions, but her “type” would be intelligent and polite, which Caine seemed to fit.

 _Don't get too ahead of yourself_ , she told herself.

“So, Caine,” Georgia said. “Tell us about yourself.”

“Like what?” Caine asked.

“What's your favorite color?” Becka offered.

Caine thought for a moment. “Red,” he decided on. “Like, a dark red. Maroon.”

“What's your zodiac sign?” Dana asked humorously.

“Sagittarius.”

Dana leaned in to Astrid and whispered in a singsong voice, “He's compatible,” to which Astrid rolled her eyes.

“When's your birthday?”

“November twenty-second.”

“Were you born in Perdido Beach?”

“I don't know, I was adopted.”

“Are you single?”

Becka was the one who had finally asked the question, waggling her eyebrows at Astrid as she said it. Caine froze, looking back and forth at the four girls. He looked very thoughtful, like he was taking the simple question into careful consideration.

Finally, he said, “Yes.”

All of Astrid's friends made noises of approval, and Georgia nudged her, smirking. Astrid blushed at how obvious they were being. If she actually would want to flirt with him or something, he'd probably be scared off by their obvious effort to get them together.

“What'd you do to get into Coates?” Astrid asked, taking a risk of offending him to get the subject off of his relationship status.

Caine shrugged. “My parents have a lot of money, and wanted to get rid of the responsibility of caring for me, so they sent me here.” He didn't sound the least bit concerned about it, which was good, because it meant he hadn't taken Astrid's question the wrong way.

“Oh,” the girls said.

“I'm sorry,” Astrid added, on behalf of all of them, not wanting them to seem inconsiderate. She didn't like it when people got bad impressions of her.

“Eh.” Caine shrugged again. “It's okay. They're not that great, anyway.”

“I'm going to the bathroom,” Becka announced suddenly, and she stood up.

“Same,” Georgia and Dana said, and immediately stood up, too.

The three girls quickly began walking to the bathroom, not giving Astrid a chance to come with them. Dana looked back at her and winked. Astrid shot her a look like, “I won't forgive you.”

That left Caine and Astrid alone. He smiled and scooted closer to her on the bleacher bench, a casual act, but one Astrid also registered as purposefully getting close to her for a reason that was more than just politely closing the space between them. She prayed silently that Caine wasn't actually sent to Coates for sexual harassment.

“So, tell me about yourself,” Caine said, sounding harmless and friendly.

“What do you want to know?”

Caine thought for a moment. “Like, your hobbies and interests. Stuff you like.”

“Well,” Astrid started, “I like to read. I like math. I'm very organized. I have a little brother called Little Pete; he's four, and autistic.” She eyed him, probing, as she mentioned her brother, to see if he would make a prejudiced comment or a disgusted face. When he didn't, she gave him some brownie points in her head.

Caine nodded. “Interesting. What kind of books do you read?”

“Fiction, mostly,” Astrid replied. “Most often historical or science fiction. Do you read?”

“Sometimes,” Caine said. “I don't get that much free time at Coates, but they do have a nice library for when I do.”

“The only library in Perdido Beach is in the school,” Astrid said, sighing. “There's a bookstore, though. But no public library.”

Caine frowned. “That's too bad. I could take you to the Coates library, if you want.”

“And do what, gaze upon it jealously?” Astrid asked. “I don't go to Coates, I couldn't check anything out.”

“Well,” Caine said, “if there's a book you want, you could check it out on my account. I'd have to get it back from you eventually, but it would give me and excuse to see you again.” He smiled hopefully.

“ _Or_ ,” Astrid responded, “you could just ask me on a date without manipulating me into giving you a valid reason to see you again.”

Caine blushed, turning away. “I could,” he said, his voice not betraying his apparent embarrassment. “Would you want to do that?” he asked, looking back to her.

Astrid studied him. Her friends would never let her forget this if she turned him down, but they would never let her forget it, either, if she took up his offer. And what her family think? They would probably be suspicious at first, since he was from Coates, and he shared the same name pronunciation as Cain from the Bible, the first killer, but Caine might win them over with his charismatic charm he'd demonstrated to Astrid and her friends.

Had he won her over?

“Sure,” Astrid said. “I'd like that. I'll give you my number so you can call me.”

The end of the game bell rang.

  


  


  


Sam had said goodbye to Diana, and gave her a hug. She smiled at him and told him to text her. He'd agreed, obviously. After they'd left, Quinn had told him he should've kissed her. He argued that he didn't want to rush it, and, though he didn't tell Quinn, he was too scared.

“That Drake was kid was so messed up,” Quinn had also told him. “He microwaved a puppy! He just put it in the microwave and killed it! Who does that?”

Now he laid in his bed, trying to figure out how to text Diana. He'd texted Quinn first, but he told him he had no more experience with girls than Sam did. In the end, he just decided on, _Hey, Diana_. Now he had to wait for a response.

He looked over at his closet, where the inexplicable ball of light was hidden. The strange, glowing, green-white orb that gave off light, and never seemed to run out. He'd created it one night when he was alone in his room at night, scared of the dark. It was embarrassing that he was still afraid of the dark, but he was, and this ball of light had come out of that.

And then there was the incident with Tom, his mother's ex-husband and Sam's ex-stepfather. Sam had thought he was threatening her, going to do something bad, and he had panicked and created the same kind of light, but it came out of his hand like a beam, and burned Tom's hand off. He burned his hand off. How could he do that?

What if he hurt someone else with it? His mother? Quinn? Diana? Would he be able to live with himself?

His phone buzzed, bringing him back from his thoughts. It was Diana. _Hey, Sam_ , she said. Sam smiled. Now he had something good to distract him from something very bad.

  


  


  


Caine sat on a chair in the library, staring at his phone. He was also trying to figure out how to text a girl he'd just met. He could ask Drake, who was sitting in chair next to him, but Drake would probably advise him to tell her he wants to hear her screams of pain, or something equally as disturbing. He could also ask Diana, who was also sitting in a chair on the other side of him. She would either give him actual advice, or make fun of him for needing help. He'd have to just try his best.

 _Hey, Astrid, it's Caine_ , he sent. He hoped that wouldn't sound weird.

“Is that that blonde girl?” Drake asked suddenly.

Caine jumped, realizing Drake had been looking over his shoulder at his phone. He blushed, and used his telekinetic power, previously unrivaled with a strength of four “bars,” as Diana called them, to push Drake back into his seat.

“Yes, it is, actually,” Caine said.

“Ooh,” Diana said. “Caine, texting a girl? And we all thought he'd be hung up on me forever, didn't we, Drake?”

“We did,” Drake agreed, grinning like a shark at Caine's awkwardness.

Caine, trying to divert the subject from him, said, “What about Sam? Huh, Diana? You're texting him, too.”

“This is business,” she answered, unfazed.

“Is it only business, though? Or do you like him, too?” Caine pushed, hoping Drake would help him out.

“Mmm, does Diana have a crush?” Drake said.

“Oh, you got me. I'm in love with him,” Diana said, heavily sarcastic. “He's a four bar, Caine. The only other one besides you. We need intel on him. You don't want a rival for the throne, do you?”

She was right, Caine wanted his power to be unrivaled. Sam was a threat. “You're right,” he resigned.

Diana went back to her phone, satisfied.

He looked back down at his own phone. Astrid had texted him back. _Hi, Caine. What's up?_

He responded with, _Nothing really. And about our date, I was thinking we could go out to eat?_ He pressed send, holding his breath. What if she didn't want that? What if she would change her mind?

She said back, _That sounds nice. Where would we go?_

Caine sighed with relief, and smiled to himself. _Anywhere you want,_ he told her.

 


	4. Complications

Sam and Diana had talked last night about planning their date, and the next morning Sam was going to ask his mom. They'd decided they wanted to go to Frosty Whip, and Sam could use the gift card he'd gotten from going to the football game for them.

He sat down at his dining room table on the next morning, where his mom had prepared scrambled eggs for breakfast. She always did that on Sundays. “Good morning, Sam,” his mom greeted him, setting a glass of water next to his plate.

“Hi, mom,” he said. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach. He was nervous about asking his mom.

“Something wrong?” she asked, sitting down at the table.

Sam shook his head. “I just wanted to ask you something. Um, I met a girl at the Coates game… and….”

Connie glanced over at him curiously. “And?” she prompted.

“And, uh, I was wondering if I could take her on a date today,” he finished, looking down at his plate.

Connie smiled at him. “You don't have to be embarrassed,” she said reassuringly. “That's sweet. What's her name?”

“Diana Ladris.”

His mom froze. It was a few moments before she said, “Oh.”

Sam blinked. “Is there a problem?”

Connie shook her head unconvincingly. “No, there's not a problem,” she said, also unconvincingly.

“Do you know her?” Sam asked.

“Yes, I know her….”

Why was she acting so weirdly? Maybe she knew that Diana hung out with Drake the psychopath. That would make Sam concerned, too, but knew that Diana wasn't stupid and was aware of Drake's state of mind. She could protect herself.

“So, we were talking about going to Frosty Whip, since I got that coupon for going to the game. Would that be okay?”

Connie studied him, a concerned and thoughtful look on her face. “Okay,” she said slowly. “But, Sam — just be careful, okay? Coates kids can be….”

“I know, mom. I will,” he assured her.

“And call me if you need anything, and when you want to be picked up. I'll be awake.”

“We need to pick her up,” Sam said. “She said you have to sign some forms and stuff.”

His mom sighed, smiling at him. “You're getting so grown up,” she said, putting on a pretend-sad smile. But there was something else in her voice and in her eyes. Something Sam thought that made her seem worried. Why would she be worried? There's nothing wrong with Diana. She wasn't like Drake, or even Caine.

Wasn't she?

  


  


  


Diana walked into the library, running her fingers through her hair, which she had just finished drying after a shower. She'd spent half an hour in the bathroom, showering and putting on makeup. It was Sunday, the day Sam and Diana had scheduled their “date.” If she was going to seduce him for information, she'd have to look the part.

She sat down in the formation of four chairs that her, Caine, and Drake had claimed as their own. Nobody else dared sit in their spot. They knew what they were capable of.

Caine sat on her right, and Drake on her left. Caine was texting someone on his phone, undoubtedly the blonde girl he was so fond of. Diana had taken to calling her Elle Woods, the name of the main character in _Legally Blonde_. Caine hated it.

“So, today I'm going out with Sam,” Diana announced. She stared at the two boys, daring them to make a snide comment.

Finally, Caine asked monotonously, “A date?”

“For him,” Diana replied. “For me, it's data-gathering, as I have mentioned several times before.”

“Right,” Drake said, in a way that made it very clear he thought she liked Sam.

Diana waited for the school's librarian to pass before giving Drake the middle finger. “What about you, Caine? You going out with Elle Woods?” she asked, knowing that would get on his nerves.

“Yes, actually, I am,” Caine responded with dignity. “ _Astrid_ and I are going to an ice cream parlor she likes.”

Diana froze. “What's it called?” she asked, apprehensive.

Caine tilted his head to the side, confused. “Frosty Whip, I think. Why?”

“Goddammit, Caine, me and Sam are going there,” Diana groaned. “Go somewhere else. Our mission is more important than your crush.”

“You're not a queen, Diana,” Caine retorted. “I'm allowed to have nice things sometimes.”

“Oh, I'm sorry, King Caine,” Diana snarled, “but aren't you the one who wants to be unrivaled in your power? He's threatening that aspiration, and you're letting your preppy blonde distraction get in the way.”

“Ladies, ladies,” Drake interrupted. “Why don't you go on a nice double date? I'm sure your old married couple chemistry won't scare off your dates.”

Caine used his power to throw a book at Drake's face. He did that quite often. “What time are you going, Diana?”

She scrolled up through her messages with Sam to make sure she told him the right time. “Two o'clock,” she said when she found it.

Caine clenched his jaw, exhaling in frustration. “Us, too.”

“Oh, _dear_ ,” Drake said, smirking.

“Shut up, Drake,” Diana snapped. Drake threw a pencil at her in response.

Diana and Caine stared each other down for a good ten seconds before Caine said, “We'll just… stay away from each other. Yeah?”

“Fine, you asshole,” Diana said, throwing her hands up in annoyance.

“Just know this, Diana,” Caine said, his voice very serious. He leaned closer to her, and said, “If you mess up my time with Astrid, you'll be in serious trouble.”

Diana snorted. “Right.” 


	5. Experiences

Astrid's mom had volunteered to chauffeur for Astrid's date. Astrid had blushed when her mom called it that, a date, but she couldn't really deny that's what it was. All morning her friends had pestered her with texts about her and Caine.

Her parents had shared her concerns about Caine. He was from Coates Academy, the “troubled kids” school, so it's possible he was a very troubled kid. And, of course, the first thing they'd noticed about his name was that it was identical in pronunciation to Cain from the Bible, the first killer.

“You want to go on a date with the very first murderer?” her dad had asked her incredulously. Astrid's dad had repeatedly told her that if he caused her any trouble, she was to jab at his eye with a pen in her pocket.

“Thanks, dad,” she had said.

For Astrid, this was as much of a test as it was a date. She thought Caine had potential. He was intelligent, charming, handsome, and polite, but, as Astrid couldn't get out of her head, he was from Coates, where rich parents sent their “troublesome” kids when they became too much to handle. What had Caine done to get sent there?

“So, Caine,” Astrid's mom said, “is this your first time going into town?”

Caine shook his head. “No, I've been here once before on a field trip. We went to the beach.”

Astrid's mom laughed. “Yep, the beach is about Perdido Beach's only attraction. Unless you count PBNP.”

“Yeah,” Caine agreed. “They'll probably take us there next. Coates loves field trips.”

Astrid tuned out of their polite conversation, staring out the window thoughtfully. Maybe she was making a mistake going out with him. Maybe she was making the best decision of her life. She supposed time would tell.

After a few minutes, they arrived at Frosty Whip. Astrid's mom told them have fun and call her when they wanted to be picked up. The ice cream shop was relatively busy, full of kids who were no doubt using the gift cards they had been given for going to the football game.

“So, um,” Caine said awkwardly.

“Let's go inside,” Astrid said, and they walked up the few steps to enter the shop.

The shop was very full, mostly of teenagers, as usual. As they joined the line, she noticed it was decently long, and near the front of it Astrid recognized Sam Temple — School Bus Sam — with a pretty dark-haired girl who she thought she'd seen at the Coates game. So she wasn't the only one who'd met someone there.

Caine had also seen Sam and the girl. Astrid noticed his eyes narrowed, and he exhaled as if he was trying to stay calm.

“Do you know her?” Astrid asked, looking at him curiously.

Caine blinked. “Who?”

Astrid gave him a “really?” look. “The pretty dark-haired girl in line with the boy in the red shirt. I know you do, I was just seeing if you'd tell me the truth.”

Caine blushed. “Sorry. Yeah, I do. She goes to Coates. We, uh . . . well, I had a crush on her for awhile. She didn't feel the same. We're friends now though. That's it, though. I promise.”

“Is it?” Astrid responded quizzically.

“Yes,” Caine said, a faintly eager tone to his voice. “I promise it is.”

Astrid looked at him thoughtfully. She decided she believed him, but he did seem to sincerely want to be here with her. She was good at reading people.

“Good,” she said, and smiled.

  


  


  


The skepticism of Sam's mom had not helped with Sam's nervous feelings about his date. Diana was just so intimidating, both because of her looks and her strong attitude. Sam liked that about her. She was way out of his league.

Now, Sam and Diana were at Frosty Whip, ordering their ice cream.

“Why don't we just get a large sundae and we can share it?” Sam asked her, thinking that would be a good thing to do on a date.

Diana smiled and nodded. “Alright. Extra hot fudge.”

Sam stepped forward to address the young man working at the desk. “Uh, can we have a large vanilla sundae with extra hot fudge?”

“Do you want nuts on it?” the worker asked, punching their order into the cash register.

“No nuts,” Diana answered.

“Okay, that'll be five ninety-nine.”

Sam handed the man the money, and accepted the change. He and Diana moved to the side to wait for their order. He scanned the shop and noticed Astrid Ellison, a girl he'd had a crush on for quite awhile — and still kind of did, admittedly — with a boy who looked like it was Caine from the game.

Sam nudged Diana's arm. “Is that Caine?” he asked, nodding in their direction.

Diana rolled her eyes. “The one and only. His date with some girl from town he met at the game coincided with ours. I tried to get him to change it, but he was adamant.” She must have read Sam's expression, because she added, “Don't worry, I made him promise to leave us alone.”

They were distracted by the arrival of their sundae, which was a lot bigger than they both expected. It was drenched in hot fudge, and had whipped cream and a cherry in the middle. Sam picked it up, shivering slightly at the coldness of the bowl. They thanked the worker, and went to find a table.

Inside was filled up, so they found a table with two chairs outside. It was a nice, sunny day out, perfect for ice cream. The outside eating area was nearly filled up, too.

“This is good,” Diana said after having a bite of their sundae.

“It is,” Sam agreed. Despite the freezing ice cream he was eating, his palms were sweaty, and he couldn't stop bouncing his leg. Fear of being too awkward dominated his thoughts.

Diana looked up at him. “So, Sam,” she started. “I want to get to know you more.” When Sam blinked stupidly in response, she went on, “That's the point of dates, isn't it? Getting to know each other?”

Sam supposed she was right. That's what they should be doing. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Where do you want me to start?”

She shrugged, and Sam's eyes lingered for a moment on her tan shoulders. “The basics, I guess. What kind of stuff do you do?”

“I surf,” Sam answered. “Me and Quinn. That's about it, really, besides watching TV and stuff.”

Diana smirked a bit. “I thought so. You seem like the surfer type.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Sam asked, smiling back.

She shrugged again. “It's kinda hot,” she replied humorously, having another spoonful of ice. cream.

Sam laughed, feeling flustered. He tried to hide this by helping himself to some ice cream. “What about you?” he asked.

“Eh,” Diana said, trying to get as much chocolate fudge on her spoon as possible. “There's not much to do up at Coates. Unless you like bullying people.”

Sam snorted. “Hopefully I'll be able to get you out of there sometimes,” he said, looking down at the ice cream to avoid eye contact. “Go on more dates,” he continued, and, to his own surprise, reached across the table to take her hand in his.

Diana smiled. “Yeah, hopefully.”

  


  


  


  


Caine had carefully chosen him and Astrid a table as far away from Diana as possible. He also sat with his back facing to them, so he wouldn't glare in their direction. He was determined not to let her and Sam's presence affect him and Astrid's date in any way.

They'd gotten a sundae to share, with chocolate fudge, whip cream, and a cherry. Astrid had used her coupon, and Caine had paid for what the coupon didn't cover. So far they'd been enjoying friendly smalltalk.

“So is this your first date?” Astrid asked him.

“My first real one, yes,” Caine replied. “What about you?”

“It is,” she answered. “It's going pretty well so far.”

Caine smiled. “That's good to hear.” He ate another spoonful of ice cream, and then asked, “What did your parents think of this?”

She gave a small sigh. “Well, they weren't completely supportive, but I convinced them. They're kind of overprotective,” she told him, sounding mildly exasperated. “Plus, you sharing the name of Cain from Genesis didn't really help.” She laughed.

Caine chuckled. “Yeah, I get that sometimes. Sunday school was always very awkward.”

Astrid laughed again, and the sincerity of it made Caine's heart jump.

“Yeah, people would call me all sorts of things,” he went on, grinning. “'Murderer', of course, and there was 'demon' and 'devilspawn'. I got branded a vampire once, too.”

“That's pretty out there,” Astrid noted.

He nodded. “Definitely.” He ate a bite of ice cream to hide the fact that he didn't know what to say next.

“When's your Thanksgiving break?” she asked him, and Caine was silently thankful for not having to come up with another lame conversation starter.

“We have all Thanskgiving week off except for Monday,” Caine replied. “What about you?”

“Us too,” she said. “I might be able to convince my parents to let you come to our Thanksgiving dinner. If you'd like.”

Caine blinked. “Really? That'd be nice, I'd like that.”

Astrid smiled. “Me too.” She prayed she had not just made a huge mistake.

  


  


  


Admittedly, Diana was enjoying her date with Sam. Not that that meant she was totally and completely in love with him, but it was nice to have something to do besides plot evil deeds with Caine and Drake and watch their mutants develop their freaky powers. She'd tried to get some information out of him, but she didn't really know what she was supposed to do to achieve that. It had seemed simpler before she was actually in the position to do it.

They'd sat holding hands and eating ice cream for about fifteen minutes, and then Diana had left to go to the restroom, which smelled strongly of antiseptics. She had finished washing her hands and was leaving to return to Sam when Caine's date walked into the restroom. Their eyes met in the mirror, and the blone smiled politely. Diana groaned internally.

“You're Caine's friend, right?” the blonde asked, looking at her with calculative eyes, like Diana's own.

“You could say that,” Diana said, brushing her hair out of her face. She held out her hand for the blonde to shake. “I'm Diana Ladris.”

The girl accepted Diana's handshake. Her grip was professional and firm, but still respectful. “Astrid Ellison,” she introduced.

Diana didn't take notice, she was concentrating on reading Astrid's power level. After prolonging the handshake a bit too much, she determined she was around a one or two bar. With a power level that low, the girl probably didn't even know she had one.

“I know,” Diana said with a smile, falsely cheerful. “Caine's been talking a lot about you since the game.”

Astrid gave a short laugh. “I saw you with Sam Temple. Did you guys meet at the game, too?”

Diana nodded. “Yeah. Do you know him?” Maybe she could get some information about him from Astrid.

The blonde shrugged. “Yes, kind of. Everyone here sort of does. Did he tell you about his fifteen minutes of fame?”

Diana tilted her head. “He didn't. What happened?”

Astrid smiled faintly. “I'll let him tell you the details if he wants, but, basically, in seventh grade, he drove a bus full of kids safely onto the side of the road after the bus driver had a heart attack.”

Raising her eyebrows, Diana responded, “That's quite the feat.”

“Yeah,” Astrid agreed. “People call him School Bus Sam.”

“I'll ask him about it,” Diana said. Then, leaning a little closer to Astrid, she said in a low voice, “Can I give you a word of advice? Be cautious with Caine. He can be . . .” she trailed off and then left the restroom, leaving Astrid to wonder what exactly Caine could be. 


	6. Absence

Caine had spent most of his day so far contemplating his date the previous day. He'd repeatedly gone over the same details, such as the way Astrid's hair had blown in the breeze, or the way her intelligent eyes had looked at him with enjoyment, or — this had come up most often — how she'd proposed the idea of him having Thanksgiving dinner with her. This memory had occupied his thoughts nonstop since Sunday afternoon.

That was, until, his English teacher disappeared right before his eyes.

It was so sudden he felt like he had gotten slapped in the face. There wasn't a pop or an explosion, he just disappeared.

Gone.

He blinked. With a glance around the classroom, he saw that he wasn't the only one appearing unnerved.

“Did you see that?” people were whispering.

“Mr. Thornton —”

“Where did he go?”

“Tracy's gone, too!”

“So is Logan . . .”

“Is this a joke?”

Diana met his eyes from across the room. He nodded to the door, and they stood up and made their way to it through their classmates, who were now wandering around the room. Andrew, one of the kids who had developed powers, looked expectantly at him too, and Caine made a motion that plainly told him to stay where he was.

“Caine, where are you going?” a boy asked him. Matthew, he recalled.

“To find out what's going on,” Caine told him.

“What do we do?” a girl's voice said. Caine couldn't locate its origin. People saw him as a sort of leader, so he wasn't surprised that they were looking to him for answers.

Caine felt Diana's eyes on him, waiting to see his response. “Stay calm,” he said, “and stay in the classroom for now. We don't know what's going on outside.”

The kids erupted into conversation, some protesting his admonishment, others agreeing with it. He left them to it, pushing the door open and holding it for Diana as she followed him. When they were both in the hallway, he shut it, and glanced around, half-expecting to find their missing classroom occupants grinning next to them and boasting about their disappearing act.

“Let's find Drake,” he said, not sure what to do in this situation besides find their third.

“No need,” Diana replied, looking over his shoulder.

Caine turned to see Drake strolling down the hallway toward them.

“My, my,” Drake drawled, stopping next to them. “Your teacher's gone too, then?”

“Yes,” Caine said distantly. He was trying to work out a logical conclusion to how this could've happened. “Mr. Thornton and two other kids.”

Diana, who had drifted over to an open classroom door across the hall, said, “Mrs. Vonbusch is gone, too. And a couple kids, it looks like.”

Kids were starting to wander into the hall now, creeping tentatively out of their classrooms. Gleeful laughter echoed spookily through the corridors, which were quickly filled with anxious chatter.

“Our teacher's gone —”

“Mrs. Vonbusch just disappeared —”

“— Aaliyah's gone, too, she —”

“They poofed, man, they —”

Caine saw Lenny and Sumo, the two bullies he'd saved Astrid from at the game, barge out of their eighth grade classroom at the end of the hall and announce loudly, “We're going to raid the teachers' lounge!” Their idea of an escapade was met with both support and dissuasion.

Caine cleared his throat loudly. Though it was only heard by the kids closest to him, the attention they gave him quickly spread throughout the rest of the growing crowd.

“As I know you've all worked out by now, all of our teachers are gone,” Caine started, magnifying his voice so he could be heard. “And some of our fellow students.”

“Everyone fifteen and older,” Diana muttered so that only he could hear, looking thoughtfully at the ground. “I think, at least.”

“It appears that everyone fifteen and older was subject to the disappearance,” Caine relayed, flashing a grateful look at Diana. A wave of realization spread the crowd at his words. “Until we can figure out —”

“The wifi's out,” someone interrupted. Caine couldn't find the source of the voice.

“Yeah, the bars are there but it's not working,” someone else agreed, their voice rising with apprehension. .

More nervous murmuring followed this revelation. Those with cell phones began pulling their phones out of pockets and backpacks to see for themselves.

“Well, that doesn't necessarily mean anything,” Caine said reasonably.

“There's no service!” another kid cried.

Out of the corner of his eye, Caine saw Diana frown and take her phone out of her pocket, and started typing as though sending a text to someone.

“Why wouldn't there be service?” a girl Caine recognized as Tricia asked.

“Does that mean the adults are gone in other places, too?”

“But the power's still on —”

“The power plant can run on its own, you dumbass.”

“What if the nuclear —?”

“ _Attention_ , please,” Caine half-shouted. Silence fell almost immediately. “For now, I just ask you all to remain calm and don't leave the school. We'll figure out what's happening, and we'll deal with it together, okay?”

After he received mumbled okays and yeses in response, he turned to Drake and Diana. “Let's go to the teachers' lounge,” he said. “We can check and see if the TV in there works.”

Diana shrugged, still staring at her phone, though her fingers weren't moving anymore. Drake said, “Fine by me, boss.”

Caine led them through the crowded hallway and to the teachers' lounge, encountering many scared kids on the way. He told them the same thing he'd told the first group of kids, though quicker, as he had somewhere to be.

When they reached the teachers' lounge, they met three seventh grade boys trying to break open one of the vending machines. The candy-dispensing one. Caine cleared his throat loudly, and they jumped, startled, and scurried out of the room.

“Well, the TV does not appear to work,” Diana said, sounding unconcerned, though Caine knew even she was anxious.

She was right, though. The TV was turned on, but was static, the noise of it filling the empty silence of the abandoned room. Drake stepped forward and picked up the remote off of the arm of a miniature sofa. He flipped through all the channels. Nothing.

Nobody said anything.

Caine looked around at the rest of the room. There was a dollar bill on the ground in front of the soda vending machine, and a bag of pretzels had been dropped on the floor, spilling its contents everywhere. A large stack of paper had been dropped near the other entrance to the room.

Finally, Diana said, “If there's no signal, then we're probably cut off from the source. I don't think this would've happened everywhere.”

“Thanks for the insight,” Drake snapped.

“Anytime,” Diana replied with false cheer.

Caine sat down in a chair. “Diana's right,” he said thoughtfully. “I think this probably happened locally, maybe down in Perdido Beach, too. We're not exactly a well-connected area, so it'll probably be a little bit before other areas figure out something happened, since we can't contact anyone with the service out.”

“If people driving on the highway disappeared, then it shouldn't be too long,” Diana pointed out.

“What about whatever's blocking the service?” Drake said.

Caine and Diana didn't know what to say about this.

“We'll figure it out,” Caine said.

“Hopefully someone will have come for us by then,” Diana said.

Drake smirked. “I don't know. I kinda like the idea of living without adults.” His smirk widened into his shark-like grin. “Just think of all the possibilities.”

Diana flashed him a reproving look. “You're a psychopath,” she said venomously. “Caine wouldn't let you live out your heart's desires. Right, Caine?”

Caine simply stared thoughtfully at the wall. “I don't know . . .” he said, and Diana looked at him with a shocked disapproval. “What if no one comes for us?” he continued rhetorically. “And we're cut off from the rest of the world. Someone would have to take charge, be a leader . . .”

“That's a great idea, you could have your own little empire,” Diana retorted. “Emperor Caine, the second coming of Napoleon.”

With a frown, he said defensively, “I'm not talking about entire continents, just the local area.”

“What if I wanted to be the king?” Drake asked, appearing intrigued by the idea. “I'd be a better king than you would, Caine.”

“No you wouldn't, your only talent is intimidation, a —”

“Oh, would that preppy girl Astrid be your Queen?” Drake sneered. His face was alight with the satisfaction of knowing he was going to anger Caine. “Yes, perfect, that'd be —”

“Shut _up_!” Caine shouted, pushing his hands in Drake's direction, sending him flying backward with his power. Drake was lucky there was a couch behind him.

Drake pulled himself up, nostrils flaring as he closed the space between him and Caine. Sounding as though he'd been wanting to say it for awhile, he yelled, “Your powers are the only reason you're in charge! You —”

Diana stepped between them, stretching out her arms to keep them from ripping each other to shreds. “ _Grow up_ , will you?” she snapped, her voice thick with revulsion. Her face wore an expression of thorough indignation. Looking sideways at Drake, she said, “Drake, you need to shut up and deal with the fact that Caine is much more fit for leadership than you are.” Cutting off his protest, she turned to Caine, and said, “Caine, being the fit leader, you need to swallow your pride and get your shit together. These kids need you right now; this is a distressful situation and they're mentally trouble children. Do your job.”

And with that, she stalked out of the room.

  


  


  


A slap to his face woke Sam up. He was hit with a wave of memories of the recent events. The adults disappearing. Searching his, Astrid's, and Quinn's houses.

The apartment building fire. Running inside. The little girl, covered in soot, half her hair burned off. The liquid fire she'd ejected from her hands at him. The killing light he'd shot back at her.

He'd hit the girl.

He heard a voice. Astrid's. “Sam!” it said, sharp and worried.

He coughed in response. She breathed a sigh of relief.

“Are you okay?” she asked him, dabbing at his forehead with a wet cloth.

With a nod, he choked out, “I'm fine.” He sat up, with her help, and saw Edilio and Quinn, along with others, manning the fire hose to finish putting out the fire, which was no longer a blazing inferno. He looked at the little girl lying on the sidewalk, a few meters away from him. Someone had put a blanket over her. He knew the answer, but he still had to ask. “Is she . . . ?”

Astrid nodded gravely. “You did your best, Sam. You charged into a burning building.”

“You're right,” Sam said.

“The girl's parents probably had the stove on when they disappeared,” she concluded, as though she had already thought this out but was just now relaying it.

Sam knew the real reason. He didn't tell her, though, for the same reason he hadn't told her about the light in his room.

Astrid studied him for a few moments. “These kids look up to you, you know,” she finally said. “Whether you like it or not, as long as this is going on, they're going to see you as a leader.” She stood up, brushing dirt off of her pants.

“Great,” Sam replied, in a tone that made it clear he did not think that was great. He tried to stand up, and wobbled a bit. Astrid grabbed his arm and helped him to stand successfully. His vision blurred a bit, and when it cleared after a few seconds, Edilio was standing in front of him.

“Fire's out,” he said, observing Sam's ash-covered appearance and unstable posture. “Mostly, at least. We saved the hardware store, and all the daycare kids are fine.”

Looking around the plaza, Sam saw the little kids of the daycare being shepherded back inside by Mary and John Terrafino. Quinn was looking annoyed with some of the other kids helping with the fire hose, which they had now turned off and were attempting to roll up. The hardware store appeared to be in good shape, as Edilio reported, and various tools kids had removed from it in case it caught fire were sitting a pile next to the fountain. Black smoke was still rising from the apartment building; evidently there was still at least one small fire.

“Good,” Sam told Edilio. He clapped him on the shoulder. “You did a great job, taking charge.”

Edilio grinned sheepishly. “You're the one who ran into the fire.”

“Yeah, and look what good that did,” Sam said grimly.

“Sam,” Astrid said quietly, nudging him softly. When he looked at her, she nodded to a growing crowd of kids in front of him Sam hadn't noticed. They were gathering a few meters away, looking expectant.

“What are they doing?” Sam said stupidly.

Astrid gave a small smile. “They're waiting for your speech about the fire, Mr. President.”

Sam blinked. “Why do I have to give a speech?”

“They're scared,” Edilio said. “They need reassurance. You took leadership earlier, and they're remembering it.”

With a reluctant sigh, Sam spoke loudly, “Uh, can everyone please quiet down?”

They did, almost immediately.

“Cool,” he said, feeling himself blush. “I know you all must be scared, and that's perfectly fine. I'm scared too. Terrified, actually, after what I just did.” He shifted his feet awkwardly. “I'm very proud of all of you who helped put out the fire. We saved the hardware store and the daycare. We couldn't save the girl, though. I tried.” Sam saw Orc and Howard snickering on the edge of the crowd with some other of Orc's goons. “That was a tragedy, as we all know.

“What we need to do is to just stay calm. I know that's a lot easier said than done, but nothing good will come from panic, yeah? Our parents and all the other adults will come back, and we'll be here just fine, waiting for them. So let's just sit tight and wait, okay?”

He received some mumbled okays, though the kids did generally look more comforted. Figuring that was enough, he turned and walked to a bench to sit down. Astrid and Quinn followed him, and Edilio wandered off.

“I didn't realize you were a politician,” Quinn said with a grin.

“You did good, Sam,” Astrid told him.

Before Sam could respond, a little boy wandered over to them, twiddling his thumbs nervously.

“When will my mommy be back?” the boy asked Sam, looking up at him.

Sam got up off of the bench and knelt down in front of the boy. “I don't know, little bud,” he said. “But right now we just have to wait for her, yeah?”

“I miss her,” the boy said, his eyes filling with tears. “If she isn't back by bedtime, then she won't be able to tuck me in.”

Sam smiled reassuringly at him. “Listen,” he said, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. “I miss my mom too. We all do. But since your mom isn't here right now, why don't you eat a cookie? That'll make you feel a bit better.”

“Okay,” the boy said, and walked off, presumably to eat a cookie.

Astrid smiled. “That's your advice? 'Eat a cookie'?”

“What was I supposed to say?” Sam said, slightly defensively.

Astrid shrugged. “It seemed to work a bit.” She gazed thoughtfully at a group of kids who seemed to be debating whether or not they should cross the street. “The problem is, before long, there won't be any more cookies to eat.” 


End file.
